I just joined Jewish Voice for Peace!

All you need is a credit card

I just joined Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). All I needed was a credit card – not even a real one. They will probably catch on – eventually but I bet they will still number me among the members for a long time to come.

Are JVP Jewish?

There was considerable social media dispute, about whether there were really one thousand Jews, when ‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ claimed over 1,000 people gathered at largest ever Jewish pro-BDS conference. Or perhaps the question should be were there one thousand real Jews?

Here’s what I found.

Some are Jews and ‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ definitely sprinkle some schmaltzy shtick around (like rewriting the Pesach Haggadah) but their FAQ makes it clear that they don’t have to be.

Do I have to be Jewish to join ‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ ?

No you don’t. ‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ is an organization that is inspired by Jewish values and traditions to work towards peace and justice. We are committed to building an inclusive Jewish community, that, like many of our families, welcomes Jews and allies who share our values and appreciate our traditions, who advocate for an end to Israeli human rights abuses, and who oppose anti-Jewish hatred, anti-Arab racism, and Islamophobia.

It occurred to me that perhaps they would try to establish Jewish credentials before accepting just anybody as a member. Perhaps there would be a question about what particular Jewish values and traditions I feel inspired me (when inviting someone involved in the murder of Jews to their conference)? Perhaps there would be a question about whether I was a member of a Jewish community? Perhaps a question about my level of Jewish identification? Nope.

Clicking on their online membership link leads to the financial dues potential member must pay up before asking any ‘Jewish’ questions. Or any questions at all (name, rank or serial number?). This is very unusual. I have joined many Jewish/Israeli organisations and none has demanded money before even asking my name.

Isn’t that how an antisemite would see ‘money grubbing’ Jews behaving?

Big Deal, my alter ego, ‘joined’ with totally bogus details. None was authentic including made-up, if on the face of it appearing authentic, credit card details.

That didn’t matter. All I needed was to fill in the payment form and in seconds I had signed up. No more questions.

Jewish values are clearly taken on credit.

Jewish Voice for Peace vs. J Street

Hard to believe but ‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ is worse than J Street. The older and larger organisation at least pretends to be Pro Israel. When time permits I will attempt a chart showing the similarities and differences between the two groups.